Tri-fire 6970 or wait for something else?

[Sieg]

Hello all,

I'm getting ready for BF4 and my two 6970s is not really cutting it for me when pushing 3600x1920. I'm on a budget so the first option is get rid my mobo and grab another 6970. The second is sell my two 6970 and get two 7970s or 680s. The third option is to wait for the 8xxx /7xx series.

 

[DraginDime]

Just sale your cards and buy a Titan
I'm actually in the same position as you are. I tried 3x 6950's but my board didn't allow much performance increase adding the third card, so I just sold my 3rd card for now. I've been eyeing SLI 680's, but they've been out for so long I'd rather wait until the next series drops now. That and the price of the 680's still seems a little high, (even used ones), it seems like the price has only increased since they were launched.

The Titan LE is just around the corner, I may wait for it to see what it has to offer. But I expect it to be priced around $700-800 range

 

[IdiotInCharge]

You're pushing 6MP; with two HD6950 2GB cards, BF3 felt a lot slower than a single GTX670 2GB at 2560x1600 (4MP). I can't imagine your current gaming experience on demanding games! Microstutter galore.

You know you're going to need two of whatever, and at 2GB (even with memory efficient Keplers) is cutting it close; so I have a recommendation.

EVGA makes a 4GB GTX670 FTW with GTX680 PCB, which looks like the perfect solution, and would probably run better than the two cards you have now. You could try using one for current games and see how you like it, and you can add a second down the road for BF4/etc.

I also would not recommend AMD cards for multi-GPU until they get their drivers sorted, so otherwise a 6GB AMD card would work just as well for now. If you want to wait until they get those drivers out and places like [H], TechReport and Anandtech can certify their effectiveness, that'd be good too.

 

[doug_7506]

Just sale your cards and buy a Titan
I'm actually in the same position as you are. I tried 3x 6950's but my board didn't allow much performance increase adding the third card, so I just sold my 3rd card for now. I've been eyeing SLI 680's, but they've been out for so long I'd rather wait until the next series drops now. That and the price of the 680's still seems a little high, (even used ones), it seems like the price has only increased since they were launched.

The Titan LE is just around the corner, I may wait for it to see what it has to offer. But I expect it to be priced around $700-800 range

Although I love the raw power of a titan, I don't think you can use titan and budget in the same sentence.

You're pushing 6MP; with two HD6950 2GB cards, BF3 felt a lot slower than a single GTX670 2GB at 2560x1600 (4MP). I can't imagine your current gaming experience on demanding games! Microstutter galore.

You know you're going to need two of whatever, and at 2GB (even with memory efficient Keplers) is cutting it close; so I have a recommendation.

EVGA makes a 4GB GTX670 FTW with GTX680 PCB, which looks like the perfect solution, and would probably run better than the two cards you have now. You could try using one for current games and see how you like it, and you can add a second down the road for BF4/etc.

I also would not recommend AMD cards for multi-GPU until they get their drivers sorted, so otherwise a 6GB AMD card would work just as well for now. If you want to wait until they get those drivers out and places like [H], TechReport and Anandtech can certify their effectiveness, that'd be good too.

2 x gtx 670 4gb def make the most sense right now. But realistically bf4 is still 5+ months away. I think your best bet is to put the money you have available now aside and save until some benchmarks come out. That way you know about how much power will be needed. Then you can buy accordingly.

EDIT:

Becasue of diminishing returns, I do not think you should change you mobo. the premium you will pay for a good tri-fire board will not be justified by the marginal gains.

 

[trungrd]

2 x 7950 3gb will only cost you a bit over $500, something to think about

 

[DraginDime]

Although I love the raw power of a titan, I don't think you can use titan and budget in the same sentence.

That's very true, but who said anything about a budget
However, since he said maybe 2x 680's, according to which 680s he picks up, he could easily pass up the cost of a single titan. Dual 680 Classified would run about $1200(new of course). Performance would be a better compared to a single titan, but you wouldn't have to worry about scaling at all or any issues SLI may bring. And later down the road, when/if the prices ever drop, pick up a second titan.
The AMD road is def a bit cheaper than the NV side. It's really just up to what the OP's budget is.

 

[sparks]

If your only thing is BF4 which is coming out in October.
Wait till the end of Sept and see whats available then.
And all the cards should be cheaper too.

 

[Sieg]

Thanks for all of the replies you guys. I decided to wait for a bit and see what's coming out and wait for a sales on 670/680s. 7950 is not a bad choice but I'm tired of AMD drivers being stupid every time I try to update(I have to completely uninstall the last driver or have to take out one of the card to get it to install.) I want to go back to nVidia this time around.

 

[Tradio]

instead of going tri 6970, i think dual 7970 would be a better option

 

[fanboy]

I been useing AMD since the HD 4890 /cx5850/HD6950/HD7950.. Never really had any driver issues as i just got my HD7950 and it runs great on cat 13.1 even on Crysis 3

User error is offen more issue then AMD or Nvidia drivers .. Titan may have company soon 4/22/13 is the said date for HD7990 and i'm sure we will get the 1 gpu vs 2 gpu (foul cry) which really means notting when price is what it comes down to.